Fresh Coronavirus Trouble; Lagos Restores Ban on Carnival, Concerts, Street parties, Religious activities |READ FULL

According to a statement signed by the Incident Commander and State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday, all public servants from GL 14 and below, except emergency workers and first responders, are to work from home as from Monday, December 21st for the next 14 days, in the first instance.

All schools have been directed to shut down with immediate effect, and until further notice, while concerts, carnivals and street parties are banned in Lagos State until further notice.

All Night Clubs in Lagos are to remain shut and those that defied the existing order to reopen must immediately shut down, until further notice.

The government has also reintroduced the midnight to 4am curfew imposed by the Federal Government, while "the protocol of 'No Mask No Entry' must be enforced by all public places: offices, businesses, markets, shops, and so on.

"All Places of Worship (Churches, Mosques, etc.) must ensure that no gathering exceeds two hours and also that no gathering exceeds 50 percent of the maximum capacity of the venue.

"All Event Planners must obtain prior clearance from the Lagos State Safety Commission (www.lasgsafetyreg.com) for all events, and ensure that any planned gatherings do not exceed 300 people.

"A minimum of 2 meters' distance should be maintained between seated or standing guests" while all guests and service providers at events must wear nose masks/coverings before entry.

Hand sanitizers or hand washing units are to be positioned at the entry point and various spots within the hall. Provision must be made for all guests and service providers to wash their hands before entering the venue or use hand sanitizers, as well as undergo a temperature check, which is mandatory.

"Guests and service providers with high temperature (above 37.5) are to be politely turned back and referred to paramedics or the emergency response team that must be present.

"The Lagos State Government is now sounding a clear note of caution to all residents on the importance of maintaining the guidelines that we have put in place to protect us from the ravages of COVID-19.

Sanwo-Olu said Lagos State is recording an increase in COVID-19 cases in all local governments. This is not peculiar to Lagos alone; the entire country is also seeing an uptick in the numbers of confirmed cases of the Coronavirus disease.

"Of every 100 tests that we now perform, an average of 10 turn out to be positive. This is an increase from the 5 per hundred recorded in September, but lower than our peak in August which was between 20 and 30 per hundred. This suggests the existence of active community transmission, and represents the very likely possibility of the emergence of a second wave in Lagos State.

"This second wave calls for a full re-awakening of caution and precaution. The complacency that crept in over the last few months as a result of our early interventions when cases started to decline from our peak in August, must now give way to an abundance of vigilance, adding that, "We cannot afford a reversal of the gains we have made against this pandemic."

While wishing Lagosians compliments of the Season, Sanwo-Olu, who has been in isolation, assured that his health was getting better by the day, and all will surely be well."

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